'Tiny Tim' returns to stage at Shawnee Playhouse

After a year hiatus from local stages, a Pocono seasonal classic hits the boards again as Shawnee Playhouse presents Michael Harron and Rick Cummins' "Tiny Tim's Christmas Carol," beginning today.

PATRICK BRESNYAN

After a year hiatus from local stages, a Pocono seasonal classic hits the boards again as Shawnee Playhouse presents Michael Harron and Rick Cummins' "Tiny Tim's Christmas Carol," beginning today.

This original take on the transformative tale of Ebenezer Scrooge is told through the eyes of the physically challenged but insightful Tiny Tim, played by Michaela Raub of Stroudsburg.

Raub, who is a fourth-grader at Stroudsburg Intermediate Elementary School, said the show has some simple yet important lessons. "It teaches us to love and think of other people before ourselves, and that friends and family are more important than money," she said.

This show differs from the traditional version of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" in that the audience sees Tiny Tim alongside Ebenezer Scrooge as he undergoes his Christmas Eve journey of self-discovery and change.

Returning to the show as Scrooge is Pocono stage veteran Jerry Durkin of Paradise Valley. Durkin said Scrooge is a wonderful role that carries a resonant message. "It's never too late, no matter what kind of a rotten, uncaring or thoughtless person you've been — no matter what you've done wrong in your life. It's never too late to stop and try to turn things around and be a better person," he said.

Durkin added that the part also carries a bit of a warning for how we treat others with our words — especially as caretakers of the young. "When you see how a slightly cutting remark from a parent can have such a terrible and lasting impact — it should make all of us think that, even if we're not as bad as Mr. Scrooge, we really have to be careful with how we carry ourselves lest we create a lot of damage in the world," he said.

Artistically, Durkin had high words of praise for his young co-star, Raub. "She is just a remarkably poised, self-confident and talented little person. She's a delight, and — believe me — when she is on stage, the audience won't know if the rest of us are there or not, because she will steal their hearts," he said.

For her part, Raub had this to say about Durkin: "Jerry is a talented actor who can be mean in the show and also make you feel sorry for him, even though really he is so nice and fun to work with."

The director of "Tiny Tim's Christmas Carol," Sara Ferguson of Shawnee-on-Delaware, said that her two stars are perfect for the roles of Scrooge and Tim.

"They are two of the sweetest people that I have ever worked with. First, you have Jerry Durkin, who's extremely experienced and a legend in the area. It's so funny for me to see him play this curmudgeonly old man because he's the exact opposite of Scrooge," Ferguson said. "Then, you have Michaela, who is so energetic and talented and filled with love. Seeing the two of them together is really quite magical — they have a beautiful relationship. On top of it all, they are very, very gifted actors — it's quite exciting."

Ferguson added that she hoped that the universal message of "Tiny Tim's Christmas Carol" would stay with people beyond the holiday season — especially this year.

"I want people to understand how Scrooge became what he is — for people to feel forgiveness and charity and love and happiness — it's an important lesson for us all as we've just dealt with a horrible storm that devastated so many people's lives," she said. "We need to understand how fortunate we are to have the family and friends — and even homes — that we do, when we never know when we might lose them."

Raub said, "We should love other people all the time and not be selfish. We shouldn't just be nice to others and give money to the poor at Christmastime."

Durkin said, "I hope all of us that get a little impatient at a traffic light — or something else really insignificant like that — stop and think just how lucky we are compared to so many people on this crazy planet, and how we could get a shot at making ourselves a little bit better in the coming year."

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